Thursday, July 3, 2008

Living in America

The 4th of July is tomorrow. It's a day of refreshing celebration, food, family, friends and fireworks! My memories of the 4th go way back. I'm remembering various fireworks celebrations I've attended around the U.S.

One year Rich and I and our kids were on vacation and happened to be in a very tiny town in Montana. We went to the local fireworks which erupted into some flames so they stopped the celebration and the volunteer fire dept. put out the small brush fire. End of show!

We're here at our house in Cambria, California and enjoy walking down the hill to the fireworks show at the beach. The fireworks are shot off over the waves so chance of fire is pretty slim. This is good since half of California is on fire at the moment!

This year I'm thinking about Austin Overholt, a Marine, who came home safely from Iraq in the fall. In a little over a week we'll watch him declare his love for Megan, in a lovely outdoor wedding.

I've only seen pictures of Tim Klibbe. He's the son in law of a friend. Tim's wife is Regan and they have two little girls, Aria and Lily. He was injured in Iraq (he'll receive a Purple Heart) and is home after a 15 month deployment and doing well. While he was gone, Regan held things together on the home front as well as being the squad wife which meant she had some leader responsibilities with that position as well.

I'm thinking about Neil Bullock, a fire captain with the Bakersfield Fire Dept. who hasn't had a day off in awhile and is working hard on the California fire lines along with hundreds of other firefighters.

The reason I enjoy the 4th of July is because there are people out there who have gone the extra mile for America. This love of country and loyalty to the cause goes back a few centuries now. There is a noble purpose here and a call to bravery that gets passed down from generation to generation. It makes it possible for you and I to enjoy the simple things in life and on this day to remember all who have made it possible. Only in America......

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"Perspectives" is a place where I'll be tossing out some concepts and ideas I'm pondering. I hope that my words will give you pause in the midst of your busy life. As we think about work, play, relationships, and spiritual matters, may you engage in some insightful, life-changing thought along with me.